He’s got connections in Blizzard Entertainment. He’s been playing rhythm guitar for 25 years and wouldn't have it any other way. He’s Marcus Siepen, and he’s the riffwraith for German power metal gods, Blind Guardian. Read on - and don't get too jealous, gamers.

If you’ve played, read or watched sci-fi or fantasy and dropped the word “metal” into polite conversation, it’s more than likely you’ve heard the name Blind Guardian u

Here they are, BTTF 's platters that mattered from 2010. You won't agree with most, if any, of this list - but isn't that why we love lists and charts? The debate! the cut and thrust of discussion! But enough of this chirrupping. Here, in our opinion, are the discs that represented the best of 'our kind of music' over the last year...

Now you all know the bards and their songs. With an illustrious career spanning over twenty years, Blind Guardian are as ambitious as ever. Hansi talks shop about the new record as well as the orchestral project, his love for Aussie power ballads and that damn haircut…

When I was first discovering metal as a kid that would wish his hair would hurry up and grow past his shoulders, I entered the wonderful world of power metal.